A Valentine of Hate
by Skylark Gale
Summary: Valentine's Day isn't a day of celebration. It's an almost literal bloodbath. Aincest, rated M for violence and gore.


**Erblu = Erbluhen Emotion**

 **Apos = Apostasia**

* * *

 ** _The stronger your love, the stronger your hate._**

* * *

Erblu knows exactly what time of the year it is, and there are two things that are certain. He doesn't like this one bit, and Apos doesn't know what's going on.

The former gets up out of their shared bed and moves towards the kitchen to get himself some water, doing his best not to pay particular attention to the door that led outside. He wasn't sure how to feel about not being woken up in the middle of the night by the chaos that was Valentine's Day outside, what if all of it was going come later in the day-

"Damn it, no milk left." Erblu cursed aloud, eyeing the contents of the fridge to figure out what to make for breakfast. He tried not to think about going down to the nearest convenience store to buy some more, and decided instead that he and his boyfriend were going to settle for just eggs and toast, because he wasn't willing to risk his life stepping outside.

There was a bang on the window. Someone had thrown something large and circular at it, and from what Erblu could see from behind the translucent curtains, it had hair on it. And it was covered in blood. Thankfully, the window didn't give in. And neither was his mind to the magic of the day, not yet.

"Hmm? We don't have milk?" Apos yawned and walked into the kitchen, stretching his arms as he did so.  
"No, we don't." Erblu affirmed his boyfriend, which he instantly regretted when he noticed a blank expression begin to take over Apos' face.  
"I'll go and buy some. I want some for my coffee." Apos announced in a daze. No, it wasn't lack of sleep.  
"Apos, no. You're staying right here."

"But-"  
"No buts. I don't want you to… It's dangerous out there, let's just put it at that."

Apos fell silent, defeated. Erblu knew that the urges to go outside were going to get stronger as the day went on, and was thankful than neither he nor his boyfriend had succumbed to it yet.

"... Sorry, we're going to have to settle for eggs and toast." Erblu continued, taking said food out of the fridge, putting a pan on the electric stove and turning it on. Apos mumbled something, eyed the front door again (Erblu was ready to jump at him in case he tried to get anywhere near it), and headed towards their bedroom. The shorter-haired male was very ready to leave his eggs cooking by themselves on the stove to check on the longer-haired male, before he heard the water in their en-suite bathroom turn on and he breathed a sigh of relief, the grip on his chest loosening.

It doesn't take long for Apos to finish brushing his teeth and do his usual morning things, and Erblu gestures towards the food with a small smile.  
"It's not much, but I guess it'll have to make do." He picked up a fork and began to eat, and soon, Apos began to do the same. Erblu noted how… lifeless his boyfriend seemed today, and it really was scaring him that the magic was already taking more of a hold on his boyfriend than him, and he had no clue how to deal with it.

Breakfast was swiftly done, and the dishes cleaned up in the same manner, before Erblu dragged Apos into their bedroom and locked the door.  
"Erblu, what's wrong?" Apos lay down on the bed, and Erblu couldn't help but join him, tossing an arm over his waist.  
"... Nothing." Erblu lied, hugging his boyfriend closer to him. Well, he loved him a lot, that was definitely undeniable, but he was also scared. Very much so. He knew Apos could feel it but didn't have much idea why, and Erblu wasn't willing to scare his boyfriend with the details as to what kind of curse landed on couples during Valentine's Day.

Suddenly, the emotions were overwhelming, and Erblu began to almost (unwillingly) squeeze the life out of his boyfriend, and he shut his eyes tightly and waited for the waves of anger and frustration and _hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate_

"Erblu! Erblu!" Apos was desperately trying to get his boyfriend to snap out of the trance that he was in, not only for his own life (he swore that any more force would cause his ribs to break) but also because he really, really wanted to know what was wrong and whether this and his weird but strong desire to get outside was related in any way. He was almost about to suffocate before Erblu finally released him, covered in sweat and panting, even for such a short episode.

"You're telling me what's wrong. Right now." Apos demanded, making sure to give his boyfriend a glare that would hopefully be enough to threaten him. To his dismay, Erblu didn't give in.

"It's okay, it's nothing. I'll be fine."

* * *

Erblu peers outside the window near their front door because curiosity and whatever mysterious Valentines Day magic there is has gotten a hold of him, and he finds it increasingly difficult to move his eyes away from the scene that unfolds. There's a group of women, some armed with knives, some not, doing their best to spill as much blood as possible, splashing the red liquid on every single surface that they can find, guts and eyeballs and flesh and hair and heads and limbs flying in all different directions as they scream curses and also a male's name as they hack each other to death with everything that they have. Every single corpse is mutilated far more than necessary, they're often cut up as if they had just come out of a slaughterhouse and ready to be displayed and sold at a butcher's house, most of them are beyond recognition, they may as well just be assorted animal meat that some insane lunatic had decided to throw everywhere. There's laughing, crying and lots of yelling, but Erblu can tell that there is only one dominant emotion in this scene: hate.

There's a male who's looking on the whole thing in glee, his body is covered in blood much like the women fighting in front of him, but as soon as he laughs, the remaining women (regardless of their physical condition) turn towards him, and they run, crawl, jump at him. He doesn't run, he has his knife ready to deliver a world of hurt and death, but his actions are cut very, very short as a knife drives into his leg, then a few more into his torso, then a chunk of his hip is cut out and thrown at him, then an arm comes off and he's slapped by his own hand, then a leg, and finally, his head. The whole time, he's not screaming in pain. He's screaming with hate. Pure, pure hate.

Erblu finally snaps out of his trance when he realises how red-tinted his vision was and forces himself to stop looking, he violently closes the curtains shut, rushes and throws himself onto his bed, unable to comprehend why he was able to watch all of that without feeling disgusted or sick.

* * *

Apos finally comes out of his shower and Erblu feels his chest instantly tighten at the blank stare that his boyfriend has, rushing over to hug him (though he still only has a towel around him) in an attempt to stave off the fear that's threatening to overwhelm him. It takes a moment, a moment too long, perhaps, for Apos to react and return the hug. It also takes a while too long for Erblu to to sufficiently lower his anxiety enough for him to speak coherently, and he finally lets go.  
"You should rest. You look horrible already and it's only early afternoon." Apos observes, gently pushing Erblu towards the bed, and he can't resist. He's honestly mentally exhausted already at trying to suppress his emotions, reminding himself that he only has to endure this for one day.

Soon, another wave washes over him and he curls up on the bed, burying his face into the pillow. He feels Apos slide onto the mattress next to him and pull up the blankets to cover both of them.

Erblu gets the shock of his life when he realises that Apos isn't lying next to him, and rapidly sits up to inspect his surroundings.  
"Apos… no, no, no…" He whispers to himself as he clambers out of bed (he doesn't remember falling asleep) and rushes into the kitchen and living area, hoping that Apos has left some kind of note, since he usually does whenever he goes out. Surely enough, there is a piece of paper on the kitchen bench, and Erblu can't control the tremble in his hands as he picks it up to read.

 _I've gone to buy milk for tomorrow's breakfast. - Apos_

Erblu knows exactly why he went out, and he feels an invisible force coming from the doorway, trying to pull him out and into the chaos outside, but before he does, he finds himself scanning the kitchen, looking for the place where their meat knife is…

It's gone.

This sends Erblu's anxiety beyond its usual limits and his stomach lurches as his body walks itself out of the door.

* * *

There's already blood everywhere in the streets. The sky is clear, the sun is almost at the horizon, but there's rain, keeping the blood liquid and running and splashing as people scream and cry and laugh and kill. Erblu only had one thought:

Find Apos.

After a brief moment of panic to get used to the red scenery, he remembers the way to the grocery store and begins to bolt, staying away from as much blood, knives and flesh as he physically can. On his way, a knife hurls his way but he manages to duck just in time, almost face-planting into a large puddle of red as he does so because of the speed that his body moves downwards. His heart is already racing too fast for comfort, the yelling becoming white noise that starts a headache and makes it worsen with time, and his whole body aches as he's tense beyond belief, and his hyper-awareness of his surroundings for stray projectiles isn't making his headache any better.

There's more screaming, and people crying and dying, and red flying everywhere, and Erblu has to shield his face multiple times to avoid getting blood splashed into his eyes. It doesn't take long for his clothes and his hair to become dirtied, but he doesn't care, because the only thing he can think about is the safety of his boyfriend. A decapitated head comes flying at him, it's too late to dodge, and Erblu has to resort to swatting it away to the best of his ability, and for a split second, he gets a glimpse of the inside of this dead person's throat, then their lifeless face with an eye rolled back (the other eye is missing) and a stab in their cheek, and their mouth hanging open, and then a part of their brain through the hole where a section of their skull had been hacked out.

After what seemed like an eternity of sprinting (he's amazed that his head isn't spinning, maybe the Valentine's Day magic feeds him endurance too), he arrives, and of course the usual tiled floors are splattered with blood, and so are the shelves. The entire store is a mess of food, bottles, packaging and of course, human body parts scattered all over the floor, and there seems to be no signs of life initially, and Erblu's mind kicks into an impossible overdrive as he races around the debris and destruction in an attempt to find his boyfriend.

And there he was, at the milk section where he said that he'd be. The long-haired male is standing right in front of the fridges. Most of the doors are ripped off and shattered, there's cartons all over the floor, the white mixes with the red to create a disgusting combination of protein and colour, and he's looking away from him, blood splattered on the backside of him, the knife that he's holding in his right hand dripping with crimson. Erblu wants to approach his boyfriend carefully, like a rescuer approaching a scared animal, but his plan fails as he splashes a little too loudly in a puddle of liquid.

Apos turns around. The only thing Erblu can see in his eyes is _hate_.

"... You cheated on me with Arme, didn't you." He speaks in a tone that Erblu has never heard before, and Apos approaches him slowly, kicking aside the bodies and flesh that he'd sliced up, approaching like a predator stalks its prey.

"Cheating? No, never, I love you!" Erblu doesn't bother to hide his panic, his vision is already blurring slightly, and he can feel his boyfriend's gaze burn through his heart and soul, and he realises that he can't move his body, he's petrified.

"What a liar. I knew it. You have to have." Apos raises his voice a little, getting closer and closer…  
"No, Apos! Don't do this! Snap out of it!" Erblu pleas, hoping that his boyfriend can at least resist or put up some sort of fight against the magic that's turning him into a monster.

Apos pauses his advance, as if thinking, and Erblu sees a slight flicker of the person he knew, but only for a moment. Then Apos' eyes _blazed._

"DIE!" Apos screams, lunging forward at a terrifying speed with the bloodied knife, and Erblu almost trips over a stray leg in his attempt to escape his… no, this wasn't his boyfriend. This was a completely different thing. Erblu makes a bolt for the store entrance, just anywhere to get away to safety. A knife comes flying towards his eyes as he reaches outside and he dives to the right, right into a pool of blood and rainwater that completely stains the small amount of clean spots that's left of his clothes, and he scrambles up to his feet again to continue running. He looks behind and sees that his pursuer has deflected the knife to the side using his own and has closed some of the distance between them in the time it took for Erblu to get up.

Erblu can feel his emotions threatening to spill over but he screams at himself internally to hold his ground, to not succumb to the hate, and that his boyfriend was in there somewhere, _he even saw it_ , but first, he needed to get away from all of this madness. He weaves through a relatively small crowd of flying flesh and metal, someone cuts into someone else's throat very much nearby and he covers his face to avoid getting a spray of blood to his eyes, he jumps over yet another dead body, Erblu feels like he's part of some survival TV show, except instead of soft obstacles and the threat of landing into a pool of water at failure, he's dodging real weapons and he's falling into death if he fails.

He can hear Apos yelling in rage and steel cutting into flesh close behind him, somehow his boyfriend can keep up and kill at the same time, but Erblu immediately switches back to the task at hand, which is to avoid death. He doesn't know where he's going anymore, he doesn't know whether he's hoping that Apos tires out before he does, but he's now confident that the Valentine's Day was currently giving him a boost, but it's probably giving his boyfriend a bigger bonus of physical capabilities. Erblu has already rounded enough corners that he's lost count, and Apos is still chasing him, his fury not having died down at all.

Erblu's mind begins to blank, and suddenly he finds that he has run down an alleyway with a dead end, the yelling and screaming of everyone else affected by Valentine's Day is far in the distance, and Erblu wants to be relieved as his head is no longer pounding so painfully, but he can't because Apos is looming over him, literally a predator cornering their prey. Erblu is already backed into a wall, and he curls up into the ground, tries to look for a sign that his boyfriend is there, because he at least wants that comfort before he dies, even though it's a lot to ask for.

Erblu almost thinks that it's too good to be true, but there it is. A flicker. Then again. Apos is completely still, as if there's an internal battle going on and his body isn't quite sure what to do, but eventually, the flicker turns into a light that stays on, it's no longer a light bulb nearing the end of its life span. The familiarity in Apos's eyes are weak, he doesn't have full control of himself, but enough to stop himself from doing any harm to Erblu.

"... Apos? Are you there? Can you hear me?" Erblu starts softly, and his boyfriend returns eye contact, then looks down at himself, then back at his boyfriend, and the terror that Erblu sees in him breaks his heart.

"... I love you." The long-haired male whispers.

Apos cuts into his throat with so much strength that he almost decapitates himself.

* * *

 _No, no, no, this can't be…_

 _No, no, no nonononononononononononononono_

Erblu rushes over to Apos side after his body collapses. Luckily, his boyfriend had closed his eyes before taking his life (he wasn't particularly keen on seeing those same eyes rolled backwards), and he took his boyfriend's hand, savouring the last of the warmth of him, warmth that he'd never, ever feel again. Apos' blood was already pooling near Erblu's feet, but in this state, he didn't care, his shoes were already bloodied, so were all of his clothes, and his face, and his hair, and the dried red on his face becomes liquid again as tears run down his cheeks, and he doesn't stop them.

The tears aren't the only thing he can't stop.

 _I love you, Apos, I love you so much… why…_

 _I love you…_

 _I love you…_

 _No one else can love you like I did…_

 _No one…_

 _I really, really love you, please, this can't be happening…_

 _I love…_

 _Love…_

 _No one else can love like I did…_

 _No one..._

 _No one._

 _Nobody else._

 _Just us._

 _We loved each other the most._

 _No one else does._

 _They're lying if they think they do._

 _They don't exist._

 _Anyone who can love as much as we did shouldn't exist._

 _They shouldn't be here._

 _I hate them._

 _Hate._

 _Hate._

 _Hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate_

Erblu's vision tints completely red, his mind is suddenly free and clear, and he takes the knife from Apos's limp, cold hand with a single thought.

 _Kill._

* * *

The next few hours feel like a blur, he feels like he's almost floating outside of his own body, feels like he's controlling a deadly killing machine rather than a human body, and he's a whir of metal that glints with the light of the blood red sunset. Flesh falls apart easily with just a short amount of work, cries of pain are forced out without much effort, and he brings the messiest death he can with just a few swift movements of his arms. The others on the street are mere insects, their attacks are sluggish and without precision, not aiming for the spots that would cause the most grievous of wounds.

Erblu easily loses track of time because he's having so much fun.

* * *

Even before he opens his eyes, Erblu notices the muscle pain immediately, preventing him from rising out of bed as fast as he'd like to, and the light streaming inside his room is so bright that it's almost painful, and he winces as he opens his eyes and instantly regrets it. A headache begins to pound painfully inside his skull and he can't help but groan, before he finally orientates himself and his eyes adjust enough to his surroundings that he can open his eyes without his mind protesting.

When he sits up, he realises that there is something wrong. Very wrong.

His sheets are bloodied, so are his hands, and his blanket, and there's a blood trail leaving his bed and towards the door. But what catches his attention the most, and what makes his heart stop, is the blood-chilling message written in blood on the opposite wall of his room. In his own handwriting.

 _Congratulations on being a Valentine's Day survivor~! The number of people you've killed is…_

Erblu is confused when he realises that there is no number written, but there are instead vertical dashes that cover the walls of his bedroom. And then the memories begin to flood back, and he retches, barely able to contain the contents of his stomach, even though he knows that it's probably empty. Fear and panic begins to hit him at this point, the red colour augments itself somehow from the wall, about to jump on him and splash him further, and he whimpers and scrambles out of bed to escape his room, bursting out of the door.

The walls of the living room and the kitchen are also covered in the red dashes. And the bathroom. And the study. Even the doors are covered with the dashes. Erblu curls up on the floor and cries, feeling like he's suffocating, drowning in the blood from the walls, hearing a mocking voice read out what he has written on his bedroom wall.

His own mocking voice.

And then he has a sudden realisation. The dashes aren't just dashes. They're tallies. Of every single person he'd killed on Valentine's Day.

Erblu screams.


End file.
